Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said it had raised the alert to the highest level four on Bali's Mount Agung volcano and warned residents in an 8-10 km radius around the volcano to evacuate immediately.
Hundreds of New Zealanders have been stranded as Mt Agung volcano continues to spew ash and smoke high into the sky.
"Grey ash and occasional weak blasts can be heard 12 km (seven miles) from the peak. Flames were visible at night which indicates a potential eruption could happen anytime," Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.
